New Beginnings
by trjenkins
Summary: Aeron is a newly recruited medic at Shinra. She's just a normal girl, but her extraordinary materia-wielding abilities and mysterious past start attracting some unwanted attention...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own anything to do with FFVII. If you actually **_**played**_** the game, you would know who I do and do not own, but for those of you too lazy to bother, Aeron and who/whatever else I choose to insert belong to me.**

**Never done this sort of thing so **_**constructive**_** criticism is welcomed. "I do/don't like it", while extremely…nice?… does not help me get better. At least throw in a useful sentence or two, even if it's just about a missed comma. But be warned, if you start some kind of insulting shitfit, I won't hesitate to dish it right back. And ten bucks says I have a much more **_**creative**_** vocabulary at my disposal. :)**

The decision was a relatively easy one to make, just one she wished she would never have to. She had spent too long being turned away from private medical institutions on the grounds that she hadn't completed enough education or gained enough field experience. She had tried a small backdoor venue, but that only brought in enough gil to fund the basic supplies she needed to treat anyone in the first place. Plus, there was always the risk of getting caught practicing without a license, and then she'd be in a law enforcement station somewhere and there would be questions about where she came from and… No. It was just better to do it this way. Although, she _had_ hoped…

It was quite ironic, really. The only institution willing to hire anyone into a medical field based on aptitude rather than paperwork was the one place she never wanted to go. The thought of it had already worked her into a small huff, ensuring that whomever she met next would be on the receiving end of a snappish mini-tirade. A niggling voice in the back of her head reasoned that that wouldn't necessarily be _so_ bad, that maybe if she was churlish enough they would just send her back home and she wouldn't have to set foot in that horrible shiny, concrete monstrosity of a building… But no, a much more sensible and bitter voice countered. The cold hard truth was that she needed the gil, and this was currently the only means of getting it.

She sighed in the cold evening air and watched the cloud of disappointed breath evaporate into the much larger cloud of city haze, and she momentarily wished she could disappear in a similar manner. Then, she looked up at the building's massive façade, took one final breath to brace herself, and finally let her feet carry her to the front entrance and through the doors.

Inside the building the air was cleaner and slightly warmer, but not by much. The air had a recycled and over-sterilized taste to it, no doubt due to the building's air circulation and filtration system. It made her feel even less comfortable than before. She immediately spotted the receptionist's desk, and sidled her way over to it from across the crowded lobby. People in business suits, military officials, and even civilians jostled and bumped her along as she made her way through the throng. She didn't bother being polite or apologetic for knocking into anyone; getting thrown out would only mean she wouldn't have to come back, and at least half of her conscience didn't mind at all.

By the time she reached the desk, she was considerably more annoyed than before owing to the fact that she had walked through a sea of carelessly bent elbows and sharp-cornered briefcases. So when the smiling receptionist turned to her, she had almost completely run out of the motivation to finish her mission.

"Welcome to the Shinra building! How can I help you?" the receptionist asked while still managing to maintain a full smile.

"I'm here for medic recruitment," she replied gruffly. "Where is it?"

Completely unfazed by her blunt reply, the receptionist slid a small handout between them while still flashing that dazzling plastic smile. "Just head over here to your left and follow the arrows on the handout. You can't miss it," the receptionist said, gesturing to her left. "Is there anything else I can-"

"Thanks," she grunted, and walked off.

She was still slightly disappointed that her rudeness hadn't gotten even a tiny reaction, when she exited the elevator onto the correct floor. This floor was much less crowded, but everyone here was definitely military. From the little she knew about the Shinra military attire, she could see that everyone here was either infantry or low class SOLDIER. She caught a couple of them leering at her, to which she replied with a scowl and an increase in pace. When she found the correct room, she walked straight in without even bothering to knock.

The bright lights in the room momentarily blinded her, and after a few seconds of bleary confusion she noticed that almost everyone had lined up against the nearest wall in front of a few men with lab coats and clipboards. She noticed a glaring lack of females and groaned inwardly. One of the men walked over to her, flipping through a small stack of papers on his clipboard.

"Ah," he said, landing on the correct page, "You must be-" He squinted at the paper. "Aeron Gibbons."

"It's pronounced AYE-run, actually," she said with a scowl, noting the muffled snickering from the line of recruits. "But whatever."

"My apologies," he said without any real feeling. "Please take your place in line among the other recruits."

She resisted the urge to kick a couple sneering idiots in the shins as she passed them, ignored the few heads craning around to watch her pass, and sidled into a spot between two unassuming recruits about halfway to the opposite wall. She didn't bother to drop her bag or to assume the attentive stance that the others had straightened into, and she tried to listen to the small lecture being given by the man who had addressed her before.

"Welcome to the Shinra Building! On behalf of our establishment and the medical department, I would like to personally thank and congratulate you for taking the first step toward becoming a member of Shinra's elite medical staff. Today will simply be a small set of aptitude trials to test your efficiency in materia handling, physical capability, and, of course, basic medical training. While there is no cap on the number of persons we can allow into the program, recruits must meet certain criteria to be guaranteed a position. But please do not be discouraged if you do not pass the trials the first time-" He paused, and his glance flickered toward her for a second. "-There is no limit to how many times you can return for a retrial. In fact, many of the people you see around you are returning veterans." He flashed an overenthusiastic smile of encouragement. "Now if you don't mind, we will begin with the testing."

He motioned to two of his cohorts and proceeded to the back of the room with the last one. As she watched them avoid certain areas of the floor, she realized that the rest of the room contained two identical floor panels, which were very large and seemed to be comprised of machinery. The two lab-coated scientists were dividing the group into two smaller units, one for each of the panels, she guessed.

"Aeron Gibbons?" one of them called, and gestured to the line on his left. As she walked up to the group, she noticed one of the snickering idiots from before leering at her. _Wonderful_, she thought, hoping fervently that he would keep his mouth shut and leave her alone.

"So… Aeron, was it?"

_No such luck,_ she thought with a wry smile.

"Exactly where did you say you received your medical training?"

"I didn't say," she replied sourly, returning his arrogant stare with a glower. She gripped the strap of her bag tightly in an attempt to calm herself.

"Oh, my mistake. My name's Trent, by the way. So if you don't mind my asking, where exactly _did_ you – "

"I'm sorry, _Trent_," she spat his name out with obvious disdain, "but I really don't think that's any of your damn business."

"A bit defensive, are we? So, Aeron, am I to believe that you haven't received _any_ prior training?" he asked with gaudy incredulity. He appeared to be enjoying himself, and a few people behind him were beginning to snigger.

She met his condescending gaze with a sour look and crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, I didn't go to any kind of medical school, if that's what you're asking. I'm sure that's what you wanted to hear, at any rate." His wide smirk was answer enough. "Now could you please bugger off? I'm trying to pay attention to the trials."

"I'm just looking out for your well-being," Trent said in his lofty tone that she was already beginning to despise. "I can see that you're obviously bright and ambitious, but don't you think you're in a little over your head? A pretty girl like you should be at home looking for a good husband, not vying for a position way out of your league. How can you expect to do the job properly if you haven't had any proper schooling? The very idea is simply ridiculous. I'm sure you _mean_ well, but honestly things will run much more smoothly if you would just leave all the real work to someone who can actually handle it." He looked extremely amused as he and his cronies chuckled. Meanwhile, she let all the pent up frustration that had been simmering for the past couple hours slowly bubble to the surface.

"Wow," she said after letting him gloat for a bit. "That was probably the most ignorant bullshit I've heard anyone say in a while. It's a good thing they don't have an intelligence analysis, or you'd already be out on your ass." They were suddenly silent as her words began to sink in, and she watched their angry expressions with growing amusement.

Trent finally opened his mouth to speak. "Who do you think you're talking to, you stupid – "

" –Unworthy, incapable, incompetent _female?_" she finished for him. "Yes, I know. You already told me exactly what you think of me. Now, here's what _I_ think. I think you're a self-righteous asshole who puts far too much stock in schooling and not enough in practice. If schooling is _so_ fucking important, why are you in a military medical recruitment center instead of some prestigious medical institution?" She quickly surveyed his figure with palpable scorn. "Judging from your pathetic physique, you weren't cut out for any kind of profession requiring physical exertion, so you went into the medical field. And my guess is once you finished with your schooling, every one of those fancy medical institutions rejected you. So Shinra was your last resort, and you took what you could get."

He went a particularly bright shade of red, and opened his mouth to protest, but she continued before he could get a word in.

"And I'm also guessing that you have such a poor opinion of women because of your inability to find a girl drunk or stupid enough to get into bed with a condescending asshole like you. I'm guessing your lack of success, looks, and physical stature probably didn't help with that either." She smirked as his face went from red to an ugly purple.

"How dare you, you stupid bi –"

"Trent Gunderson!" one of the scientists interrupted. "You're up next!"

Still glaring murderously, Trent stalked off to start his trials, leaving his now-silent cronies staring at her in uncomfortable silence. After a few minutes, of watching them shuffle nervously and try to avoid making eye contact, she turned to watch the testing on the opposite side of the room.

It looked as though the test was divided into different sections. The first section was easy enough; sterilizing and bandaging simulated wounds, answering basic questions, things like that. The second and third sections were a bit harder. The scientists provided random types and levels of materia and asked the test taker to identify which ones were present without using them. Then the test taker was required to cast the most powerful Esuna, Restore, and Cure spells possible on a simulated patient. In the final section, the scientists provided randomly selected materia and asked the test takers to defend themselves against a simulated monster, both magically and physically, for a five minute period. It looked relatively easy, but she could see a few recruits in both lines that looked disheartened.

As she looked back to the trial area in front of her group, she heard her name.

"Aeron Gibbons! You're up next!"

As she stepped forward, she passed Trent on his way out of the test area. He looked flushed and extremely pleased with himself as he shot her a haughty glare and sat against a far wall. She ignored him and took a deep breath as she stepped onto the panel in front of her.

The noise from outside the trial area immediately ceased, and she wasn't surprised to find that she couldn't see outside the area outlined by the floor panel; a set of bland walls prevented her from seeing or hearing anything outside, but she knew that everyone could still see and hear _her_. She sighed and plunked her bag down onto a stool as the program initiated.

A large pop-up computer screen asked her to please stand up straight and place her hands on the red sensors on the screen. The sensors quickly calculated her blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar, while the hidden floor sensors calculated her body weight and muscle mass. Next, a set of medical supplies appeared on her left, and a lifelike, movable mannequin on her right. The computer screen displayed instructions that required her to correctly set the mannequin's broken leg and dislocated shoulder and provide a splint or brace for each. That was easy enough even without materia, so she finished quickly.

The mannequin and supplies disappeared to be replaced by a rack with ten or so different medications. The screen displayed information on a fictional patient taking insomnia and depression medication and currently needing painkillers. The screen asked her to please choose an effective treatment for the fictional patient within a 1.5-minute time limit. 30 seconds before the time limit she chose her medication and was unsurprised to see the screen turn green in approval.

Another rack appeared with ten materia evenly spaced on the shelves. _Yes,_ she thought as she inwardly smiled. She didn't bother to read the computer screen as her palms were already hovering over the materia, beginning to read their energy signatures. A confused voice interrupted her.

"Um… you can _touch_ them, you know," the voice said through a hidden loudspeaker. She recognized the voice as the scientist who had ushered her in. "Just as long as you don't _use_ them, you're fine."

"Don't need to," she said, pulling her hand back. "I already got it. Thundara, Blizzard, Mastered Barrier, Fira, Graviga, Mastered Regen, Poison, Silence, Esuna, and… Mastered Status Ward? Holy crap, where did you get _that?_ Could I maybe take a look at that later? You don't see too many of those floating around nowadays…"

The room was silent for a bit, but then the flustered voice returned. "Well, we can't really just lend them out to civilians, but when – I mean _if!_ – you make it past recruitment, maybe… But, how did you –?… Never mind. Next section."

The voice and the materia rack quickly disappeared and were replaced by a rack of Cure, Esuna, and Restore materia and a simulation of a wounded infantryman. The computer screen returned with instructions to use each level of materia to "treat" the simulation, and the sensors would take readings to indicate the highest level of materia she could wield. It was simple enough, and she finished quickly, using all of the uppermost materia in the process.

The simulation disappeared and the materia rack changed to one with three different materia on it. She picked them up and immediately felt them out. Barrier, Blizzard, and Silence. _Too easy,_ she thought with a smile.

The monster simulation took a while to load, and she worked out an effective strategy by the time the holograph started to materialize. She was expecting something relatively large, not too difficult, but not so easy either, and she had already cast a small Barrier spell in anticipation. So she was extremely disappointed when the simulation fully materialized into…

"A _Tonberry?!_" she shouted at the back wall, where she knew the scientists were watching. "Couldn't you come up with something a little more… threatening?" She gestured toward the Tonberry simulation, which feebly waved its small pointy knife at her, but didn't look like it had any desire to actually attack.

The loudspeaker voice returned. "They're, uh… surprisingly fast and… really quite dangerous if you underestimate them. Still, we… ah… thought it was the most appropriate choice given the… um… circumstances…"

"_What_ circumstances?" she seethed. "I'm a girl, is _that_ it? You're going to fob me off with some weakling monster and then flunk me out of the program because it was too easy? I don't think so. Harder monster, _now._"

But the simulation didn't change. The Tonberry was still waving its little silver toothpick at her from across the room, and the simulation still hadn't ended.

She was fuming. Not even bothering to touch the materia, she stomped over to the green little monster. It immediately jabbed the knife at her with a surprisingly quick thrust, but she easily dodged it and kicked the knife out of its hand. Then, she punted it across the room where it bounced off the walls with considerable force and exploded in a burst of simulated pyreflies.

"Now, then," she said with her arms crossed in front of her chest, "I'm not leaving this simulation until you give me a harder monster and I can show you what I'm actually capable of. And none of that making-it-easier-because-I'm-a-girl bullcrap. I want one that was just as hard as everyone else's. If not harder." She put her hands on her hips and planted her feet firmly to emphasize the point. After a moment's hesitation, a new simulation began, and she waited until it had fully resolved into something she approved of before starting the next fight.

It was a large reptile, much bigger than the Tonberry, but still smaller than a human. Its large front claws reminded her of a mantis, but she didn't have too much time to observe it as it slithered toward her. She immediately cast another Barrier spell over the first; she didn't like the look of those hooked claws. And sure enough, the thing lunged at her with those evil-looking pincers, barely giving her enough time to scamper out of the way. It turned and lunged again, this time coming so close to her face that she could see the poison dripping from the serrated edges of its pincers. She darted off to the other side of the room. _It's fast,_ she thought, _but I can definitely hold it off as long as I stay away from those claws_.

She turned and waited for the monster to follow her, but instead it seemed to be gathering itself up for some kind of long distance attack. She looked closely and noted the telltale pre-magic glow. She quickly cast Silence a split second before the monster completed its spell, and it suddenly jerked back with a strangled sound as though someone had clamped a hand around its throat.

She couldn't celebrate for too long, though. The monster had already recovered from its shock, and it looked _extremely_ pissed as it charged from across the room. She was forced to back up as it swiped at her with even quicker strokes than before. Her back hit the wall, and she rolled out of the way just as a poison hook struck the wall right where her torso had been. The other hook followed her as she pushed off from the wall and managed to slice across the back of her calf. The Barrier spell had already relieved most of the pain as she kept moving, but she could feel numbing poison already starting to creep a cold path up her leg. _Damnit!_ She thought, as she looked at the timer. _I'm only a minute and a half in and I'm already poisoned. I won't be able to last another minute unless I do something._

She reached the opposite wall and was suddenly struck with an idea. She turned to face the monster again with her back to the wall. It seemed to her that the monster looked slightly smug; it knew that its poison was already starting to numb her leg and that she couldn't dodge its strikes as easily. But when it lashed out with an extra forceful strike using both pincers, she quickly ducked, and its claws were embedded in the wall above her. As it struggled, she quickly picked her way out from under its claws and limped over behind it. She used her good leg to pin its reptilian body to the ground with her knee. It struggled harder under the pain, but she knew it wouldn't be free in time.

She quickly cast Blizzard, but instead of concentrating the ice _above_ the creature, she concentrated on casting it within the creature's body.

The effect was instantaneous. The creature instantly let out a choked cry, and she moved aside as it doubled over on itself in obvious pain. Within seconds, it had frozen over completely and hardened into pure ice. Not only that, but the entire floor in the room had frozen over, and frost was running up the simulated walls as the monster's icy body surged into simulated pyreflies.

She stood up from her kneeling position on the floor, and started to brush the frost off of her clothes, when she looked up. The simulation had ended, and now she could see and hear everything outside of the testing area again, but she hadn't realized it because everyone in the room was staring at her in stunned silence.

"What?" she said self-consciously after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. That seemed to snap some people out of it, and one of the scientists quickly walked over to her holding her bag and a Restore materia.

"Here, Miss. I can see to that if you'll just show me the wound," he said. He held her bag out to her, but kept the hand with the materia out expectantly.

"Don't bother," she said, reaching into her shirt. "I've got my own." She pulled out her necklace charm, a perfectly round clear sphere, considerably smaller than a materia orb.

The scientist looked confused. "But, Miss, that's not –" He stopped as the orb turned a dark green and visibly grew in her hand. She cast Restore and felt her face flush warm as the poison was purged from her body. The cut on her leg stopped bleeding, and she felt an odd sensation as the skin started resealing itself over the wound. By the time she had finished, the orb had cleared to its normal color and shrunk down to its original size.

She looked back at the scientist and was amused to see the multitude of expressions flitting across his face. He opened and closed his mouth several times trying to figure out exactly what to say, and it reminded her of a fish out of water. He finally looked up at her with an expression of dumbfounded admiration and held out his hand. She didn't realize what he wanted at first, but then she took his hand with a smile and shook it vigorously.

"Welcome to Shinra," he said, with obvious excitement. "We are honored to have you."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yay, an actual FFVII character in this one! Don't worry, those of you who are complaining. You-know-who is showing up soon. *No, I do NOT mean Voldemort. FF/HP crossovers = teh fail. Read that shit somewhere else.**

"You aren't going to _believe_ this, sir," the scientist spouted, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I came up here just as soon as I could. And… wow, I still can't believe it! I mean –"

"This had better not be a complete waste of my time," Hojo said as he reclined in his high-backed chair. "And I'm inclined to believe that it is. Every time one of you bumbling idiots comes in here rambling about an _amazing_ breakthrough, it tends to be a bunch of fanciful garbage. It only serves to prove, once again, that Shinra is vastly under funding my research and forcing me to hire a bunch of incompetent dunderheads to loaf about and bungle my research."

"But, sir!" the scientist said, his excitement only slightly checked by Hojo's harsh words. "Just look at the readings we got off of this candidate." He humbly passed a small stack of papers within Hojo's reach.

Hojo looked down his nose at the stack, but idly flicked through the first third of the pages with a sour expression.

"The machine was obviously broken or tampered with," he said simply. He roughly shoved the stack back across the desk. "Come back when you have something _useful_ to tell me, Jethree. I have research to do, and so, for that matter, do you. I'm not paying you to fiddle around with your pathetic side projects."

"We checked the machine, sir." The scientist insisted, though with a bit less confidence. "There was no way it could have been tampered with, and a diagnostic indicated that the gauges were all operating correctly. But it wasn't just the papers, sir." He moved slightly forward with an awed expression. "You should have _seen_ it. This candidate did – _something –_ with the materia we provided and… I can't even describe it. It was cast _inside_ the monster instead of _at_ it. I've never seen anything like it. It's like she could control the strength and the exact location of the –"

"_She?_" Hojo interrupted sharply. "Hmmm…" His features became thoughtful, and the scientist took it as a sign to continue.

"Yes, sir. Didn't I mention the candidate was female?" Hojo didn't reply, so he continued. "Well, that's already pretty odd in itself, but like I said, I've never seen a display like this before. But on top of that, we only provided her with a simple non-Mastered Blizzard materia, but the gauge recorded that the casting force was equivalent to that of a Mastered _Blizzaga._ It was the same with her curative materia wielding. Her spells had more strength than we ever thought possible with simple materia. Her Curaga cast alone had the power of _ten_ Curagas! It overloaded the sensor! And it could probably cure an _army_ of –"

"I don't care about _curative_ materia," Hojo snapped. "What was this recruit's name again?"

The scientist reached across Hojo's desk to the stack of papers and flipped through the first few pages. "Gibbons, sir. Aeron Gibbons."

"Hmmm," said Hojo, still looking thoughtfully into space. "Perhaps… Get me some more concrete proof and I might consider looking into it."

"Yes, sir!" The scientist's eyes grew wide with glee. "I'll look into it right away."

**2 weeks later**

Aeron sighed. It wasn't a pleased sigh.

She was sitting on the balcony that was tacked onto her new apartment in the Shinra employee housing complex. The night air was cold, but the view was breathtaking. She could see the entire span of Midgar sprawled out beneath her and could even catch a glimpse of the edge of the plate through the glimmering skyline.

She sighed again, and glumly propped her arm up under her chin.

_What am I _doing_ here?_ She thought dolefully. _Why am I working for these people?_

She slid back inside and tossed her coat carelessly onto a chair as she surveyed the apartment with both appreciation and disdain. She had moved a third of her belongings into the new apartment just last week, and everything had already been unpacked. She left everything else in the old apartment and decided to keep paying the rent, as it was now only a small fraction of her paycheck from Shinra. All the furniture and appliances in the new apartment had been supplied, and all of them were brand new and top of the line. Her old apartment had two rooms: a studio bedroom and kitchen area, and a bathroom. Compared to her old place, this apartment was practically a mansion; the kitchen and living area were completely separate, as were her bedroom and bathroom. She had to admit, the living accommodations were nice, but she still felt like a dirty traitor accepting all this finery from the company she hated.

She plopped down onto the couch, and picked up the game controller that she had left sitting on the coffee table earlier. Using a remote to turn on and continue her game, she let her thoughts continue their never-ending tug of war in the back of her head as she played.

_Why am I doing this?_ Her thoughts repeated over and over._ I hate Shinra. They stand against everything that I believe in, and yet I'm signing up to work for them. I'm living in their housing complex, sitting on their couch, living off of the money that they gave me. Why?_

_Because you have to,_ another voice countered.

_But why do I have to?_

_Because you want to be a healer._

_Medicine isn't my only option. I could be a clerk, or a secretary, or even a fucking fast food cook if it came down to it. Why am I putting myself through this?_

_Because you want to help people. You _could_ do any of those things, but you don't want to because you wouldn't be helping anyone but yourself._

_Then why do I have to work for _Shinra_ out of all people?_

But she already knew the answer.

She looked up at the clock and switched off the game to head to bed. Tomorrow was her first real day of work, and she knew what she had to do.

Aeron's first day as a medic turned out to be the most boring and infuriating day of her life.

After showing up 15 minutes early, she and the other new recruits had to wait around for another 45 minutes for someone from the senior medical staff to show up. When someone finally came around, it was only to quickly pair one or two recruits up with an experienced medical staff member. Nobody looked particularly enthused to have the fresh recruits following them around, and Aeron honestly felt the same.

_At least I didn't get paired up with Trent_, she conceded. She had seen him shooting dirty looks at her from across the room, and she was both disappointed and relieved that he didn't come over to initiate a verbal rematch.

Her staff mentor was a graying man in his forties who didn't look too happy about interrupting his busy schedule to take on a couple raw recruits. He briskly introduced himself as Dr. Cudgeons. She recognized the other recruit in her group as one of the men she had stood next to in line at the entrance trials. He was just a little taller than she was with a messy mop of brown hair that looked as though he had rolled out of bed without bothering to fix it. He wore a constant smirk and surveyed everything around him with noticeable disinterest. As he shook hands with Dr. Cudgeons, he introduced himself as Thurston. Aeron also shook hands and introduced herself, and then they were off.

Aeron and her partner struggled to keep up with Dr. Cudgeons as he effortlessly flitted through the patients and doctors on the busy medical floor to give them a quick tour. He led them into a large side room, which turned out to be the walk-in clinic and had them quickly suit up into medical trainee coats and gloves. He then quickly darted off when a small pager at his waist noisily went off. When it looked as though Aeron and her partner were going to protest, a medical assistant hurried over.

"He'll be back eventually," the assistant said, pulling them behind the window counter, "he likes to help out with the patients." He gestured to the small crowd sitting on the plastic waiting chairs on the other side of the glass. One of the men in an infantry uniform walked up to the window.

"Um…" Aeron said. She looked over to the assistant for help. He waved her off.

"Nope. This is all you two." He started walking into the hallway connecting to the medical rooms. "Experience is the best teacher. Just have them fill out one of those and then treat them in order. The rest is fairly easy." He pointed to a stack of forms as he stood in the doorway. "I'll be back and forth to check on you, and so will Dr. Cudgeons. Good luck!" And he disappeared.

Aeron cursed under her breath, as she turned to the infantryman. He looked visibly startled after watching the discussion.

"So…um… I guess I… fill out one of these?" He picked up a clipboard and a form off the top of the stack.

"Sure," Aeron said. "And… bring it back when you're done, I guess."

The man nodded, and walked off with the form, looking slightly confused as he sat down. A couple other patients walked up, and Aeron continued the process. She looked around the waiting room and noted the number of Shinra military uniforms dominating the room. However, at least a third of the people in the waiting room looked like ordinary civilians. Aeron guessed these were probably family members of the Shinra military and staff.

After a few minutes, the lab assistant popped in again. "You're going to want to start pulling people in," he said. "The lineup is over there, so remember to keep adding the patients in order." He pointed to a signup sheet on the counter within the reach of both sides of the window. "If it's an emergency, treat them immediately or use the phone to call in the emergency team." He pointed at the phone and disappeared again.

Aeron groaned and slumped down into a moving chair. She rolled over to the list. Fortunately, it wasn't that long, so she called out the first two names. An old woman with a limp and another infantryman walked up to the window. Aeron turned to her partner.

"Who do you want to take?" she said, nodding her head toward the two patients.

Thurston took one look at the wobbling, frail, old lady and immediately waved the military man toward the door. Aeron laughed inwardly and met the woman at the door. She looked back at the empty window with a tiny bit of guilt. _But then again,_ she reasoned, _they can always sign in without us and use the bell if we're needed._ She turned back and helped the old woman into a vacant room.

Fifteen patients later and Aeron was relieved to see a lull in the number of incoming patients. The waiting room was empty, so she took the opportunity to slouch down in the rolling chair until she was nearly falling off. Despite their insistence, neither Cudgeons nor the lab assistant had showed up in the past few hours, leaving the two trainees to fend for themselves.

A few minutes later, Thurston escorted his last patient out and walked back into the room behind the counter with a relieved sigh. He chuckled when he saw Aeron slumped down in the chair with her eyes half closed.

"That bad, huh?" he asked, as he sprawled out in the other office chair.

"You have _no_ idea," she replied. Then she peeked under her lashes at him and noticed his weary expression. "Well, maybe you do." He laughed. "I probably had four or five Shinra military guys ask me to check their junk for STD's."

"I know," Thurston said wryly. "You sent all of them to me, remember?"

"Um…sorry?" She smirked. "Next time I'll take the military guys, but I'll send you the angsty hormonal teenagers and the sludge-pooping 2-year-olds."

He smiled. "Well, you can't really blame them for trying," he conceded. "It's not every day you get a female medic in the Shinra building, much less an _attractive_ female medic."

Aeron groaned loudly. "And you were doing so well," she sighed, suddenly agitated. "You know, I'm really not here to flirt. I'm here to do medicine. I'm really not interested, so you shouldn't bother."

Thurston smirked. "Don't worry, kiddo. You're not my type."

"Intelligent?" she shot back.

"Redhead." He replied with a grin. "I'm more of a blonde kinda guy." He laughed, and she eased up a little. "Sorry, if I come on a bit strong. Habit, I guess. You don't have to worry though. Medicine is my first priority." He smiled earnestly then shot her a sly grin. "Besides, wouldn't wanna get in the way of those horny military exhibitionists you like to treat so much."

She chucked a paperclip holder at his head, and he laughed as he dodged it.

Unfortunately, Dr. Cudgeons chose that exact moment to walk in, and gave them both a mini-lecture on maintaining a safe working environment as they picked up the strewn paperclips.

_Well,_ thought Aeron as she stuck her tongue out at Thurston when Cudgeons' back was turned, _at least I don't have to work with a _complete_ asshole._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yay! Look who finally decided to show up! And just to let you guys know, this might be the last post for a couple weeks. I'm heading back to the states and I'm dealing with all my Japanese language, literature, and history finals right now. I'll still be on to check any updates, so don't be afraid to shout out. Peace! :)**

"No no _no NO_!" Hojo's angry shouts echoed throughout the training room via the loudspeakers. "What the hell are you doing? I told you to _improve_! Not give me the same garbage I've seen time and time _again!_" He cuffed over a large stack of paper in his anger.

The silver-haired man in the training room's interior gazed over calmly to the mirrored wall where he knew the temperamental scientist watched. He was well accustomed to these outbursts, having dealt with them since early childhood. So he merely stood and let the flood of insults wash over him until they eventually petered out.

"First Class SOLDIER, Sephiroth!" Hojo barked through the microphone. "Stand at attention as I dismantle the program."

He obeyed, and watched the familiar dissolution sequence evaporate in a shower of pixels. He waited for his next command, although he already knew what was coming; this _always_ happened after an "unsatisfactory" training session. And once again, Hojo did not disappoint.

Now that the simulation had dispersed, Sephiroth could see through the now-transparent walls as Hojo stalked from the command room to the training room's entrance. Hojo stormed through the sliding door entrance and planted himself straight in front of the SOLDIER.

"I'm only going to ask you once more," Hojo said, pointing a quivering finger. "What the _hell_ was that sorry display I just had the displeasure of witnessing?"

Sephiroth responded immediately. "In our previous session, you had asked for better consistency and precision. I was merely trying to keep your previous instruction in-"

"You know damn well that's not what I meant!" Hojo spat. "I'm talking about that pathetic display of materia use. Is that what you call spell casting? You are graced with superhuman strength and skill, and the best you can do is produce wretched _fireworks_!"

Sephiroth set his jaw as he thought back on the training session. He recalled casting an enormously powerful Thundaga, which had drained the powerful monster simulation down to less than half of its strength. _What could Hojo possibly have to complain about?_ Sephiroth silently questioned. He surveyed Hojo quickly.

He had endured enough pain at Hojo's hands to harbor an intense dislike against him. Hojo had used harsh, cruel, and even tortuous means to shape the SOLDIER's current physique, but even Sephiroth couldn't deny that he owed his vast reservoir of power to Hojo's severe training sessions. He had long ago lost his fear of the arrogant, vicious man, and he knew that he could unquestionably destroy Hojo with minimal effort. But he had known the scientist long enough to see the true malice – and possible evil – lurking just under the surface. Sephiroth had only avoided destroying him because he had the sneaking suspicion that Hojo would have a nasty surprise or two lingering in the wake of his death…

So now he simply complied, submitting to Hojo's arrogant tirade with the mask of cold composure that others knew so well. So what if Hojo thought he had won? So what if he now wore his superior smirk that always made Sephiroth grip Musamune just a little tighter? At least he could leave the conversation rather than argue and endure the man's condescending drivel. He was finally dismissed, although he sensed Hojo's desire for punishment still had not been sated. _That will probably mean another two weeks of increased difficulty in the simulations,_ Sephiroth mused, as he left through the sliding front door. In truth, he didn't much care. It had been a while since Hojo had thrown anything at him that presented an actual challenge.

Hojo watched his retreating back with a heightened sense of annoyance. Sephiroth had been right; Hojo felt the SOLDIER's impertinent behavior deserved a far more serious punishment than a mere tirade and a few weeks of extra-grueling exercises. But what could he do? _How do you punish a perfect warrior?_ Hojo marveled. _Everything I throw at him, he manages to outmaneuver or destroy completely without so much as a grimace._

In fact, Hojo couldn't remember the last time he had seen the warrior express emotion of any kind. Certainly not in the last couple decades… He had always secretly wanted to see the man lose his cool façade and snap, not only because of the devastating power he could probably unleash in his anger, but because of Hojo's personal desire to witness evidence that his malicious deeds had indeed caused him pain. The very thought of Sephiroth's cold tranquility and occasional unruffled smirk made Hojo's blood boil. _Perhaps,_ he thought, _it's time for a change of procedure…_

"Jethree!" he shouted, and within moments the toadying assistant appeared by his side, a stack of the simulation test results in hand.

"Yes, Professor Hojo! Here is the data for the latest –"

"Not now!" Hojo interrupted. "Get me some more information on that imaginary materia girl of yours from a few weeks ago. And hurry up about it. I don't have time to waste on waiting around for pointless bureaucratic nonsense."

Jethree looked slightly astonished at first but quickly regained his composure and agreed excitedly.

"Yes, sir! I'll see to it personally!"

He darted off, leaving a haphazard trail of data papers strewn in his wake. Hojo watched him go, his mind already twisting around the little ideas that were slowly coming together and forming into a plan.

Aeron crouched in her desk chair, her extremely annoyed expression going completely unnoticed by the Shinra infantryman flashing her a cocky grin over the counter. This felt like the millionth time within the past month and a half she had been forced to deal with one of these stupid bouts of smothering male attention.

She knew that she was undertaking a difficult task by willingly joining the Shinra medical staff as one of a mere handful of women, but she hadn't signed on to be some kind of flirtation comfort object! Wasn't that what the attractive secretaries and flirtatious receptionists were for? There were plenty of _them,_ strutting about the building and flaunting their "assets" for anyone to see. And yet, there seemed to be no end to the thick-headed military egos flooding in everyday, finding the slightest injury as an excuse to get her attention. _I guess news travels fast around here,_ she thought ruefully, as she noted the significant number of heads craned above the crowd to watch her.

Ignoring his meaningful stares, Aeron took the information clipboard from the infantryman and waved him off. He looked more than a little disappointed as he trudged back to his seat, and Aeron turned to look at the information he had scrawled down. She scoffed, noting the symptoms. He had obviously chosen them at random simply as an excuse to be seen.

She sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She wished Thurston would hurry up and finish with his lunch date. He had apparently met a cute little blonde girl at a bar a week ago, and Aeron had grudgingly promised to cover his morning shift so he could take the girl to lunch. This meant that she couldn't just fob the sleaze balls off on Thurston like she usually did; she would have to deal with them herself. She groaned in exasperation, until she was suddenly struck with an idea.

Grinning wickedly, she donned a new pair of medical gloves and a surgical mask before she called the cocky infantryman back to the counter. "Why hello again, gorgeous," he cooed as he gamboled back in front of the window. She couldn't help but scowl at his pleased expression, and she was thankful that the mask was hiding most of her facial features.

"Mr. Weiss?"

"Please, call me Pietro," he urged in a silky tone. Aeron had to exert the last reserve of her self-control to stop from rolling her eyes.

"Your information indicates that immediate treatment may be required. Please step over to the entrance and I will personally escort you to the medical facilities."

She stepped out of sight of the window, and opened the door, only to be greeted by the man's self-absorbed smirk. She resisted the urge to punch the grin off his face.

"This way, please," she gestured, and guided him to the farthest room. "In here, please." She opened the door and ushered him in before entering herself and closing the door behind them.

She smirked at his reaction when he surveyed the room. This area was reserved for the more serious patients, which was why the medical staff had placed it at the end of the hall. It was hardly ever used, but due to its function the room contained much more sophisticated and… _intimidating_ equipment, which was exactly why she had chosen it. She reveled in the infantryman's obvious discomfort as she sat in a small rolling chair next to a desk. He sat down on the papered medical bed after she gestured him toward it.

"Mr. Weiss, I'm going to get straight to the point," Aeron said in the ost serious voice she could muster. "According to the symptoms you described in your initial information sheet, you are demonstrating signs of a highly infectious and deadly disease transferred by certain monsters in the area." She watched his face fall, and continued despite his attempts at uttering a protest. "In order to be sure, however, I'm going to have to administer several tests."

"What kind of tests?" He asked apprehensively, as Aeron rose from her chair to hover by a table full of nasty-looking instruments.

"The extremely painful kind." She said frankly, and turned to examine the items on the table. She picked up a long, spiky instrument and examined it theatrically. The man gulped audibly and Aeron struggled to repress laughter.

"Um…. Is that –… I-is that necessary?" He stammered.

"Absolutely." She continued to pick up and examine instruments. "Unless, of course," she said in an offhand manner, "you think you may have made an error in the paperwork." She briefly glanced at him before examining the foreboding tools.

"Ah… Well… um…" She turned to face him completely, still brandishing a long serrated hook in one hand. Now his combination of terror and embarrassment were even harder to ignore, and Aeron was thankful the surgical mask was in place so he couldn't see her biting her lip in repressed mirth. "W-well now that you mention it, I may have been slightly stretching things a bit." He said it in a rush and his face went from white to pink.

"Do you mean to tell me that you purposely fabricated those symptoms?" She let her previous anger slowly bubble to the surface and her voice had a chilly edge to it. The man began to visibly squirm under her gaze. "Why?" she demanded.

Here he seemed to regain his mental footing, and he let a flash of his old arrogance shine through as he smiled at her. "Well, truth be told, I was hoping to get you alone for a few minutes and ask you if you might want to accompany me to dinner." His dazzling smile faltered as he noticed her lack of enthusiasm.

"Forgive me, Mr. Weiss, but I am completely uninterested in your offer." She pulled her mask away so that he could get the full effect of her disdainful expression. "I don't have time to waste on spending dinner with a man who clearly has so little regard for professionalism and the well-being of others. Do realize that in the time I've wasted here stoking your ego, I could have treated someone with an _actual _illness?" She felt no pity for his crestfallen expression as she opened the door and waited beside it, a clear indication for him to leave.

As he rose, she followed him out of the room, making sure he found his way out. He made it to the front room, but before he opened the door to leave, he turned to face her again.

"Are you sure you won't reconsider? The offer still stands." He flashed her another cocky smile, and her stony scowl was the only reply.

His face suddenly grew ugly with anger. He slammed a fist into the wall and glared at her.

"Look, you stupid bitch! I came all the way up here to ask you on one fucking date. You've been stringing me along like a little slut for the past half hour, so the least you can do is say yes. I _could_ have just asked one of those easy receptionist bimbos up in corporate, but I came down here to get _you_."

"So go ask one of _them_ next time." Her voice came out in a venom-laced growl. "I'm not just being a tease when I say no. I mean I'm not going to dinner with you because I think you're a conceited asshole. Now get _OUT!_" And with that last word, the door suddenly burst open behind him and he went flying backwards through it as though struck by an invisible force.

The room was suddenly a rush of movement as people screamed and rushed out of the way of his flying form. He landed with a loud thud halfway across the room, and several uniformed men hurried over to carry his unconscious form out of the building. Aeron looked around, utterly confused as to what had just happened and wondered who had cast that spell burst without her sensing it. But then she felt the familiar sensation at her throat as her materia charm shrunk back to its normal size. Somehow _she_ had unconsciously thrown that spell at him. But what spell _was_ it exactly? And how had she achieved it without fully concentrating?

She didn't have long to think because the waiting room occupants were all staring at her quizzically, waiting for an explanation for what had just happened or simply wondering what part she had to play in it. She suddenly felt her anger flare as she spotted a few amorous military uniforms from earlier.

"Right…" she said, gritting her teeth and continuing in a loud, stern voice. "As for the _rest_ of you… Unless, you have an _actual_ medical condition that requires treatment, I suggest you leave. If I find anyone else trying to fake an illness in the hopes of getting in my pants, I will immediately report you to your senior officers and then I will personally _give you_ an injury requiring medical treatment. Now, get out or I'll see to it that you end up like your friend just now. To everyone else, I apologize, and the clinic will resume its normal daily practice as soon as the idiots in question leave the premises" She looked around the room meaningfully.

A good third of the uniformed men in the room got up sheepishly and hurried toward the exit, and the remaining people watched them go with disapproving looks. Some people even began to clap as Aeron ducked back into the front room and closed the door.

"Well, well. A redhead with a hot temper? How terribly cliché…" A voice sounded from directly behind her.

She spun around quickly, but was relieved to see Dr. Cudgeons lounging idly in Thurston's usual office chair. She sighed in relief. "I'd say it's more of an auburn…or…a…" She suddenly trailed off and tensed again, realizing that he must have seen everything from his position in front of the window. Aeron felt her cheeks starting to burn.

"Sorry, sir! Things got out of hand, and I just reacted and– I'm so sorry! I didn't think you'd be out of your meeting yet…"

"No need to explain." He chuckled as he saw her surprised expression. "I saw and heard everything, _including_ his little outburst before hand. I completely understand. I would have done the same thing." She sighed in relief. "Although, perhaps a bit less violently." He conceded. He laughed, and she let out a small smile. "And I wasn't expecting to be back so soon either. My appointment cancelled on me," he said with a brief flash of annoyance, "but I guess it's a good thing I came back when I did. I would've missed the show otherwise." He chuckled again.

"So I'm off the hook?" She asked warily, but with a playful smile still on her face.

"Oh, heavens no!" Cudgeons said, watching her bubble of happiness burst. "There's still going to be a mountain of paperwork and probably a couple weeks of corporate supervision, and since it was on _your_ watch, I'm going to mysteriously disappear while you deal with it." He smiled brightly, and she slowly began to deflate as she realized how much extra work that would mean over the next couple weeks. "But don't worry," he said seriously, "You'll still have your job tomorrow."

"Thanks," she said glumly, and plunked down into her own chair with a groan. _Why did Thurston have to be out _today_ of all days?_ She thought about exactly what she was going to say to that love struck, duty-shirking moron when he got back, but then she thought the better of it. _I could always make him help me with that paperwork as punishment for abandoning me,_ she thought evilly. The thought cheered her immensely.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Finally, some actual main character on main character interaction here! I'd also like to thank Silver Katsuyami and IronCross for their continued support and reviews! I really, really appreciate it!**

"So, Jethree. What do you have to report to me this time?" Hojo drawled as he lounged in his high backed chair. His fingers steepled in front of him as he propped his elbows on the armrests.

Jethree was surprised by this display of nonchalance. He had entered Hojo's office fully prepared for a verbal bashing, but got this instead. In fact, Hojo's calm demeanor was seriously starting to unnerve the jittery lab assistant. He squinted quietly at the Professor, trying to glean some kind of reason for his sudden change of mood.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Hojo barked, cutting across Jethree's train of thought. "I asked you a question, and I expect to be answered!" Jethree let out a sigh of relief, feeling oddly thankful for the Professor's return to character.

"Sorry, Professor," he gushed hurriedly. He held placed a stack of papers on the desk in front of Hojo. "Here are the latest reports." Hojo merely glanced at the stack and stared at the lab assistant.

"Do you really expect me to read through all of this when you can just as easily tell me?" Hojo asked, as though explaining it to a five-year-old. "All I want to know is whether or not she is ready."

"I-I don't know, sir," Jethree admitted. "The records indicate that the number of returning patients under her care have decreased. Even some of the terminally ill patients that show up for treatment have reported a drastic decrease in symptoms under her care. If this is true, she's doing things with Cure materia that we've never even _dreamed-_"

"How many times do I have to say it?" Hojo snapped. "I don't give a damn about your blasted curative materia! What do the sensors have to say? Did you put them in place?"

"Yes, sir," Jethree nodded. "I placed them there myself two weeks ago when I was called in to survey an accident in the workplace. Apparently, the girl was on medical duty when she had an argument with a patient and somehow managed to unwittingly cast a spell to hurl him bodily from the room."

Hojo's lips twitched upward into a sick smirk. "Excellent. So she _can_ use physically damaging spells. Anything else?"

"Yes, sir. The sensors have started to indicate an increase in mako readings from the materia she uses. I've never seen her materia collection myself, but whatever she's using is making her spellcasting more powerful. There have even been strange reports of incidents in that office that might be linked to that mako energy spilling over…"

Hojo reclined again in his chair, his fingers steepled once again. "Good, good. I think, Jethree, that the girl is just about ready to-"

His words were lost as Cudgeons barged into the office, slamming the door open and disturbing the stack of paper on the desk in his fury. Jethree jumped out of the way in fright, but Hojo remained seated, fixing his steely gaze on Cudgeons.

"This is the fourth time!" Cudgeons roared, banging his fist on the table in front of Hojo.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean," Hojo said dryly. "You're wasting my time."

"You didn't show up to the SOLDIER physical exam meeting this morning. _Again._ You know perfectly damn well that my department is responsible for running monthly health tests on all SOLDIER members, and you think that you're too damn good to show up with the three most important SOLDIER operatives in Shinra! Do you realize how much money and support we lose when we don't go through with those tests, Hojo?"

"No, and I don't care," Hojo said flatly. "Your medical staff lacks the knowledge and expertise to deal with my operatives. You want me to trust them into your care so easily, but you have no idea how easy it is to destroy months of my work because of a tiny error."

Cudgeons stared at him in disbelief. "We're not performing some kind of surgery here, it's just a routine medical checkup. How could we possibly 'destroy' anything by taking a few measurements?" he asked incredulously.

"There are psychological factors that you haven't taken into account," Hojo sniffed. "Would you really like to be responsible for a building full of dead employees just because you insisted on a 'routine' medical checkup?"

"Are you serious?" Cudgeons scoffed. "I don't think anything we would do to those men could even compare to the psychological torture that _you've_ made them endure." Hojo scowled. "This is going to happen whether you like it or not. But I'll tell you what. If it makes you feel any better, you can oversee the whole procedure."

"And you'll hold the whole thing here in the training room," Hojo stated emphatically.

Cudgeons raised an eyebrow. "Fine, but you're going to pay our department for all the medical equipment we have to move."

"_And_ I get to choose who is allowed to administer the tests."

"Fine, whatever," Cudgeons said, turning his back to Hojo and heading toward the door. "I'll see you here on Monday of next week. Period."

Hojo waited until Cudgeons had left the training area completely before allowing a small smirk. This was going to be much too easy…

Aeron cursed softly as she, Thurston, and Trent Gunderson quickly trailed behind Cudgeons. She had been informed of the SOLDIER checkups just yesterday, and now she was suddenly required to skip her afternoon lunch break to work with Trent, the world's biggest asshole.

"Why the hell are _you_ here?" Trent hissed as soon as he had entered the clinic.

She grimaced. "I _work_ here, asshole. And I was specifically ordered to do this. I don't like it any more than you do, so how about you shut up and we get this over with?"

He didn't shut up, though, and he made sure to whine about his assigned partners the entire way to the training room. Only Thurston's light quips and encouragement prevented her from leaving a fist-sized hole in Trent's greasy, smirking face.

They arrived at the training room, and the group blinked profusely as they stepped through the sliding doors. The lights had been turned up to their maximum capacity, and the walls inside the actual training area had been programmed to a bright white. Aeron squinted to make out the three figures standing inside the training area, but was interrupted when Cudgeons banged on Hojo's office door, a bit louder than necessary.

Hojo came storming out, but his expression turned to one of excited greed when he noticed the recruits standing behind Cudgeons. Aeron decided she hated him already.

Hojo rubbed his hands together eagerly as he approached. "Well, well, the young recruits." He eyed each one of them before fixing his gaze on Aeron. She blanched. "It's quite alright, Dr. Cudgeons. You can leave now," he said, gesturing toward the exit before turning back to Aeron with an unnatural grin. "They'll be safe with me."

Cudgeons eyed him suspiciously for a moment, before shaking hands with Trent and Thurston on his way out. As he leaned in to shake Aeron's hand, he whispered, "Good luck. If he tries anything funny, kick him in the balls." And he left. Aeron grinned and bit back a laugh.

"Well now, let's get started." Hojo gestured toward the door to the main training area. "Please step through one at a time. I have several instruments set to monitor the energy levels during the procedure, and it needs to get accustomed to new entrants before you can proceed."

Aeron looked at him questioningly as Thurston stepped through the door. "What kinds of energy levels do you expect to be reading? It's just a routine checkup." He turned to face her, a very ugly look on his face.

"That's my own business. I wouldn't expect you to understand the delicate workings of this procedure. Now, hurry up." He gestured toward the door, where Trent and Thurston were already waiting. Trent smirked at her as she entered, but she ignored him.

The walls weren't transparent from this side, she noticed. She recalled her first day of Shinra recruitment and knew Hojo was watching from behind the mirrored wall in the corner. She felt like flipping him off to test her theory, but instead they moved toward the center of the room to face the three figures already inside.

They were all men, Aeron noticed with a frown, but they seemed different from the other SOLDIER candidates she had treated. They somehow seemed more poised, more alert and confident in their stance than anyone she had seen. The bright light made it hard to see, but if she squinted, she could just make out a man in a red coat with red-brown hair, and a muscular man in a black outfit with dark black hair. The last man was a gray blur.

As they approached, Aeron noticed a rack in the corner with weapons lying against it. One was a large broadsword that looked completely ridiculous in size, and another was the longest katana she had ever seen. She pointed it out to Thurston, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh my God," he said, staring from the weapons back to the men. "Holy shit! No way!" he gasped under his breath.

"What is it?" Aeron hissed, pulling him forward. He wouldn't move.

"These guys are big time SOLDIER operatives! Like top of the food chain under the Director himself!" he whispered back. "I recognize the swords."

"So what?" she snapped, managing to drag him a few steps. "You can ask them for an autograph later."

"Would you two hurry up?" Trent hissed. "I, for one, don't want to look like a complete idiot in front of the General." He hurried forward, and Aeron rolled her eyes as she dragged Thurston along behind her. She listened to Trent's simpering introduction before presenting herself in front of them.

"Hello, gentlemen. My name is Aeron Gibbons." She noticed Thurston's dumbstruck expression and continued for him. "And this is Thurston Carmichael. We're here for your monthly checkups, which you haven't taken in a while, so we're going to have to be a bit more thorough. If you don't mind, let's get started so I can get to my lunch break."

She started moving toward the redhead at the far right, but Hojo's voice over the loudspeaker stopped her in her tracks. "Actually, Gibbons," Hojo said coldly. "I would prefer it if you worked with General Sephiroth, on the left. Gunderson, you can work with Genesis instead, and Carmichael, you can take Angeal. Thank you."

She shrugged and moved over to the man on the left, finally able to see him in the blinding glare of the room. He was tall, and she could see the outline of powerful muscles under his long black coat. His green eyes seemed to burn into hers, and she quickly looked away, noting his oddly colored silver hair as she turned to grab the medical forms on a nearby table. _He doesn't seem that much older than me,_she thought as she studied his features, _but he could just be one of those weirdoes who dyes their hair too much._ She shrugged it off as she turned back to him, placing a stethoscope around her neck.

"Okay, Sephiroth," she said firmly. "Off with the coat. I need your weight, and that thing looks like it weighs a ton. The shoes too." She wheeled a small metal table over for him to leave his things.

"I'd prefer that it stay on," he said coldly, his green eyes flashing at her. Aeron noticed the other two operatives tense up, noticing the slight argument. The one named Angeal, the closer of the two, looked very concerned. Aeron rolled her eyes.

"Puh-_leeze_," she said, moving the table directly in front of him. "It's nothing I haven't seen before, Tinseltop. And you can keep your pants on. I have no desire to see you prancing around in your skivvies." She sniffed.

Genesis, the redhead, smirked, and Aeron thought she heard Angeal let out a low chuckle. Sephiroth just scowled down at her.

"Of course, if you're still feeling uncomfortable," she goaded, "I can go get some of the hospital gowns from one of the nurses. Would you prefer the manly pink roses or maybe the cute, yellow duckies? I think we might even have-"

"_Fine,_" he cut in, obviously annoyed. He began unbuckling the straps running across his chest.

"That's a first," Angeal mused, stroking his chin with a thoughtful smile on his face. Sephiroth shot him a glare as he placed his long coat and shoulder armor on the table, and he proceeded to ignore Aeron to the best of his ability.

Not that she minded. It was much easier to complete the basic vital checks now that he stayed quiet and only acknowledged her when absolutely necessary. It also gave her time to admire his perfect physique without interruption. He was a complete jackass, but he did have a nice body, and even though she felt absolutely no sexual desire for him, she had to admit that all the muscles definitely made for some pleasing visual aesthetic.

"Okay, Sephiroth, lets check the throat and the eyes." She put her stethoscope down and reached for a sterilized instrument.

"I would prefer that you use my title, Miss Gibbons," he said quietly.

"And _I_ would prefer to be on my lunch break right now, but life just doesn't work out how we want it to sometimes," she quipped. "Besides, calling you 'General' seems entirely too formal, since I just stuck a thermometer in your armpit twenty seconds ago."

Aeron heard a snort of laughter to her right, and Sephiroth's eyes flashed over to a now-stoic Angeal. His gaze snapped back to Aeron's face, and he set his lips into a thin line.

"That's not helping," Aeron said, brandishing a throat swab. "Now open up. I won't make you gag if you promise not to bite. Don't be such a prick."

_Prick?_Prick_? How dare she?_ Sephiroth's eyes were nearly spitting green fire, but Aeron rolled her eyes and gave him a bored look. He opened his mouth grudgingly, and she swabbed his throat as she checked his throat for redness, finishing as quickly as possible.

"I'm glad you didn't bite me after all," she said, as she stuck the swab into a clear tube and snapped on the airtight seal. "I would've had to kick your ass." His glare intensified, and she shrugged. "Fine. Glare all you want. I'm checking your eyes next anyway."

She snapped the tip off the instrument she just used to check his throat, and turned on a light in its base. He recoiled as she placed a hand on the side of his neck, but he was taken aback as she tilted his head forward with surprising gentleness. He was even more surprised as he looked fully into her face for the first time and noticed her eyes.

Sephiroth knew the side effects of mako conditioning, since he himself had been given mako injections as a part of his SOLDIER training, and he knew how to spot another SOLDIER by their mako infused eyes. This girl had the same glowing irises as a Shinra SOLDIER… _How could that be?_ He knew Shinra would have jumped at the chance to have more operatives with higher mako tolerance, but he had never heard of a female candidate. He had also never heard of any civilians who had been able to privately undergo mako treatment as high as Shinra's SOLDIER program and survive. Which meant this girl was either a well-kept Shinra secret or… something else.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hardly noticed that the exam had finished. When he finally looked over at her, she had put her tools away and was writing some notes on her medical clipboard.

"Your eyes…" he said softly, and her head snapped up from her clipboard.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I said your eyes, they're -" But he trailed off as he noted the icy expression creeping across her features.

"They're what?" she snapped. "Beautiful? Full of emotion? Is that _honestly_ all you can think of? You think I haven't heard all that bullcrap about how my eyes look like 'sparkling diamond gems' and 'stormy, roiling seas'?" She scoffed. "Well, you and all those other smarmy saps can take your diamonds and stormy seas and shove them straight up your -"

"_Aeron!"_ Thurston's warning tone cut into her tirade, and she turned to glare at him but said nothing. Trent looked outraged, and Angeal and Genesis looked fit to burst with laughter. She felt her cheeks grow hot, and she turned back to glare at Sephiroth as he spoke.

"I was _going_ to say that your eyes look mako-infused." He looked amused at her furious outburst. "You're obviously not in SOLDIER, so what have you been doing that you have such high exposure to mako radiation?" Her cheeks flushed from red to white, and the room went noticeably chilly as her glare intensified.

"That's none of your damn business, _General_," she hissed, and she looked him directly in the eye with her icy stare. He met it with one of his own, and the room fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Well, I think that's quite enough for today!" Hojo's voice suddenly echoed through the room. He emerged a few seconds later, a greasy smirk plastered widely on his face. "Now I think it's time to report back to Cudgeons." He gestured vaguely toward the door, and the three medics started moving toward it with their gear.

"Ah, but I'd like a private word with you, Miss Gibbons," Hojo said, freezing Aeron directly in her tracks. She bit back a groan, and caught Trent out of the corner of her eye, grinning smugly as he continued to the door.

"I'll take your stuff to the labs for you," Thurston said, stepping forward to grab her things. Hidden from everyone else's view, he turned to her and let the concern show on his face as he bent over to grab her gear.

"Thanks," she said quietly. She slowly turned back to face Hojo as Thurston and Trent left the training area.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just to keep everyone reading, after this point, our leads start interacting on a regular basis. I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading so far and left reviews. They help my work get better, which gives you something nice to read. Keep 'em coming! ^_^**

"So, Miss Gibbons," Hojo drawled, his words cutting across Aeron's slightly panicked train of thought. "I see here that you have been with the Shinra for a little over two months now."

Aeron nodded slowly and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Yes," she said, hoarsely. "That's right."

"And you were a volunteer recruit, were you not?" Hojo asked.

"Yes," she answered again, regaining some of her composure.

"I also see that you are currently living in Shinra's company housing, in close proximity to the Shinra facilities."

_Why is he asking me all these obvious questions?_ Aeron thought to herself, slightly annoyed. "Yes, I am," she finally answered, "but this information is easily available on file, sir. Is this what you wanted to talk to me about, or was there something else?"

A flicker of annoyance passed over Hojo's face, but that sickening smirk of his quickly returned. "Ah, yes. Your file mentioned your rather impatient nature."

"So you've read it, then?" She crossed her arms in front of her. "Then why exactly are we sitting here playing twenty questions? I really do have better things to be doing right now."

"And the brash, impertinent nature." Hojo added, a stern look settling across his features.

Aeron noticed movement to her right and glanced over to see the three men silently approaching. A cold, uneasy feeling began to creep over her. She decided it was time to leave.

"Look, instead of tearing apart my personality and lecturing me about my so-called 'impertinence', just report me. Like I said, I have better things to do." She turned toward the door…

…Only to find that it had disappeared.

She looked around, completely bewildered for a second when she couldn't see the telltale outline of the training room door anywhere. Then she noticed Hojo's smile grow wider, and the cold nervousness immediately disappeared. Her hands curled into fists, and she struggled to keep her voice out of shouting range.

"Where the hell is the door?" she hissed, fixing Hojo with a white-hot death glare.

Hojo dangled a small remote device in front of him, taunting her as he spoke. "First, we talk. I'd like to offer you a job."

She froze for a second, a brief, upward twitch of her eyebrows the only indication of her surprise, but her features quickly fell back into her angry glare. "No thanks. Now open the damn door."

"You're under the impression that I was _asking_."

She could feel her nails digging into her palms, and it was all she could do to keep from launching herself across the room and attacking the smug bastard. The three SOLDIER operatives stood away from the argument, just watching the situation unfold without approval or alarm. Only Angeal looked slightly concerned, and she turned the full intensity of her glare on all three of them.

"You're just going to stand there and let him do this?" she said, disgustedly. "A real credit to the heroic SOLDIER name." she scoffed.

"They're under strict orders not to interfere," Hojo said, lightly. "Now as I was saying earlier… You're going to be working for SOLDIER now. But we need to run a few tests before we start, just to make sure…"

"I'm _not_ working for you," Aeron said coldly. "I happen to like my current job. You know, the one I actually _signed up for._"

"Oh, you can keep working at the blasted clinic!" Hojo spat, impatiently, "But at reduced hours. I'm offering you a wonderful opportunity with increased pay and-"

"I don't care what you're offering," Aeron said flatly. "I'm not doing it. Period. Now let me _out_!"

Hojo's face went a deep, purple. "You stupid, insolent girl!" he shouted. "You have no idea what I'm offering you!"

"You've just told me," she shot back, completely unfazed. "And I told _you_, I don't fucking _care_! Now let me the fuck out of here, or I'm going to have to hurt someone!"

His demeanor changed completely, and a wide, eager grin spread across his face. "Yes, that's _exactly_ what I want you to do. Go on, spellcast away!" His eyes lit up with an eerie, greedy expression.

Aeron stopped herself, and took a step back. _He has to be crazy_, she thought. She took a calming breath, and tried to slow her heartbeat, so it was a full minute before she realized that her hands were softly glowing. _Shit!_ She had almost unwittingly cast a spell at the fucker. She quickly hid her hands behind her back, but the damage was already done. Hojo was grinning wildly, and even the SOLDIER men in the room were looking at her curiously. _Shit shit shit SHIT!_

"Interesting," Hojo mused. "Apparent spell-casting abilities but with complete absence of any materia. _Very_ interesting indeed."

"It's nothing." She lied. She pulled her hands in front of her when she felt the magic subside. "I don't know what you're talking about, but you're obviously crazy. You can keep me in here for as long as you want, but I'm not doing anything for you. You're going to open that door at some point, since I know _you_ have to get out sometime. I can wait as long as it takes."

Hojo's face now wore an ugly frown. "That's what I was afraid of," he mock-sighed. "You see, I have no intention of letting you go without running a few tests first, and if you refuse to cooperate… well, let's just say the results will be very unpleasant."

Aeron scoffed. "Pfff. You think I'm afraid of _you_? I don't care if you write me up or get me fired, and I _will_ kick your sorry ass if you try anything. That includes you three," she said, glaring in their direction before turning back to Hojo. "You have absolutely no power over me, so take your best shot, shithead."

Hojo grimaced and pulled a chain of materia from within his cloak. Aeron could feel the strength of the materia from her position across the room – most of the spells in the chain were higher level materia with a few mastered – but she instinctively knew that Hojo couldn't possibly outmatch her in a fight using pure magic. She smirked as he began casting Thundaga, and the telltale yellow glow grew brighter in his hands.

"You know that's not going to hurt me, right?" she taunted.

She was disturbed to see a homicidal grin spreading across his face. "I wasn't planning on hurting _you_," Hojo said, and, to her horror, he swung around and sent the spell straight into Sephiroth's chest. He crumpled to the ground without a sound.

"You utter _bastard_!" Aeron hissed, as she raced over to Sephiroth's fallen form. The other two SOLDIERs stood stiffly in their original positions, but Aeron could see their concern as she ran past. "You ordered them not to move, didn't you?" she shouted, as she crouched down beside Sephiroth's limp form. "And you attacked him when he was vulnerable? You sick son of a bitch!" She began the most powerful Curaga she knew how to muster, guiding the green tendrils of magic flowing from her hands into the blackened wound on Sephiroth's chest.

She had almost finished when a surge of power to her left caused her to look up again. Hojo was starting another spell, and she had no idea who he would hurt this time. She did the only thing she could think of, and began another spell. Using one hand to finish the healing spell, she moved the other in a quick slashing motion towards Hojo. He flew backward across the room and fell on his back, the spell he had conjured now dissipating as he struggled to regain his breath. For good measure, Aeron cast several layers of physical and magical Barrier spells around the three men, just in case Hojo had some other nasty surprise waiting in the wings.

The Curaga had finally completed, and Sephiroth opened his eyes to see Aeron standing above him, extending a hand. He took it, and she hauled him to his feet.

"You could have stopped him," she scolded, suddenly angry. "Any of you could have stopped it."

"No," Angeal said softly. "We couldn't."

Aeron had no idea what to say, and she headed toward the small remote lying a few yards away from Hojo's prone form. She smashed it under her heel, and watched the lights dim down to a comfortable level and the outline of the door reappear. She hurried to the exit, fuming.

"You're all fucking crazy," she growled. But a voice stopped her at the door.

"That was an expensive piece of equipment," Hojo wheezed. Aeron stopped and glanced over her shoulder.

"Yeah, well, put it on my tab." She continued out the door.

"I'm expecting you next Monday at 1PM sharp," he called. She stopped midway through the door and turned angrily to say something, but he got there first. "They're my personal operatives, and I can toy with them as much as I like. If you don't show up, I might just have a little repeat of our tussle today. But, you, of course, won't be there to stop me." Aeron paled and quickly shut her mouth. Hojo grinned at her, as she finally stalked off angrily.

"Gentlemen, your presence is no longer required," Hojo said dismissively as he picked himself up from the ground. They glared coldly at him as they made their way to the door. "General Sephiroth!" Hojo called, just as they had reached the door. Sephiroth stopped in his tracks and the other two continued through the door, pausing only to glance back with worried looks.

"Yes," Sephiroth replied calmly, still facing toward the door.

"I'll see you on Monday at 1PM, as well," Hojo said. "Don't disappoint me."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here it is, folks! The start of some actual honest-to-goodness PLOT! I'd like to thank my continuing readers and take a bit of time to answer replies.**

**To KhAeL: Thanks for the support and the feedback! I'm just trying to establish character personalities so I don't have to worry about it later. **** Kinda cheating, but I'd rather get it out of the way so the readers can actually get to the plot relatively quickly.**

**To IronCross: Yes, this is totally set before Crisis Core! Eventually, I want to address both Crisis Core and FFVII, as well as where the hell everyone went in the 3-4 year span in the middle.**

**To Silver Katsuyami: Hahaha, that's why I wrote the OC this way. I was fed up trying to sort through the wussy damsels in distress and the revamped Bella/Edward relationships written into most stories nowadays. I just went the complete opposite and made them annoyed as hell with each other.**

**Once again, thanks everyone and keep those reviews, comments, and sweet nothings coming! I'll do my best to keep replies coming for you too!**

Aeron couldn't believe that it was Monday morning already, her last few hours before she had to face that psycho asshole Hojo. She groaned and rolled over, burying her face in the mountain of pillows on her bed. She'd spent the entire weekend in a similar position, so miserable that she hadn't even bothered to get out of bed, except for food and the toilet.

She remembered walking back into the clinic after her run-in with Hojo. Cudgeons was furious, and Thurston looked slightly hurt. When she had asked them what was wrong, Cudgeons had told her that Hojo had sent in a request for her work schedule and had authorized a cut in her hours at the clinic so that she could work in the SOLDIER division. _He couldn't even wait until I left for the day, that bastard_, Aeron thought wryly.

To her intense relief, Cudgeons wasn't mad at her at all, just with Hojo. Although Aeron refused to talk about what happened, Cudgeons knew from Thurston that Hojo had wanted to talk with her privately, and he could sense her intense dislike for the entire situation. Thurston, however, had no idea why she had changed up her schedule, and he was taking it a bit personally. She sighed as she remembered the disappointed expression he had worn for the entire rest of the afternoon.

_Oh well,_ she thought, finally heaving herself out of bed and into the shower. _He can get over it. I'll explain everything today._

But as soon as she stepped foot into the clinic, she was bombarded by a gaggle of corporate assholes in suits.

"Miss Gibbons, we would like to ask you a few questions about your recent and extremely sudden shift in staff positions here at the Shinra building," said the simpering, mousy man who had cut her off at the door.

She glowered at him and immediately brushed past the entire group, leaving them trailing behind her and firing off random bursts of questioning.

"Did you have any previous acquaintance with either Dr. Hojo or General Sephiroth?" "Why did he choose you as the medic responsible for the General's health inspection?" "Don't you think that's a large responsibility for a fresh recruit?" "What exactly is your extended medical background?" "Why weren't your two associates joined into the SOLDIER group as well?" "Did you have any idea beforehand that he had created this top secret position for you?" "Do you know exactly what it is you'll be doing for Dr. Hojo?"

They pestered her with questions all the way to her workstation, and she plopped down angrily in her seat in front of the window while the incoming patients goggled at the crowd of suits blocking their way.

"Look," Aeron started, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I have patients to be seeing, and I can't do that if I'm too busy with you lot underfoot. So can you please just disappear until the end of my shift?"

"I'm sorry Miss Gibbons, but we're under strict orders to monitor your behavior and complete our analysis by the end of the day. And we still have a lot of questions-"

"Mother effing _Christ_, it does not take a crowd of you to watch me! Leave _one_ and the rest of you can bugger off!"

The mousy man in the front looked extremely shocked and opened his mouth to say something, but another voice cut him off.

"I'll watch the broad," said a taller red-haired man in the back. "You guys just chill somewhere. I'll report directly to the President and the Director."

The group looked nervously from Aeron back to the redheaded man, and the patients waiting in line quietly moved to the opposite end of the room.

"Um… Mr. Reno," one of the men stammered, "Do you really think that's necessary? I mean, she's just a girl. And you're… well you're…"

"A Turk," Aeron finished for him. "Yeah, I figured."

He cocked an eyebrow in her direction, and waved the group off. They finally slunk off to the exit, pausing occasionally to check back in Aeron's direction. When they had finally left, the Turk turned back to her.

"So how does a medical recruit know how to spot a Turk?" he questioned, noting her icy expression.

She shrugged. "How does a Turk get stuck in a babysitting op?" She retorted. "I assume my personal files have been thoroughly searched by Heidegger and Lazard's offices, and since I'm still working here and _alive_ it means that they can't have found anything terribly incriminating. So why do they need _you_ here, Mr. Reno?"

He looked a bit nonplussed, but quickly regained his composure and flashed her a cocky grin. "They told me you were a feisty one," he said, leaning up against the counter nonchalantly, "and it's just Reno. No titles, _please._"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Well then, _Reno_, can you please get the hell out of the way? I have patients that need seeing to, and they're not going to come crowding up if there's a Turk standing all menacing-like in front of the help window."

"Anything for you, sweetheart," he said with a grin. "I'll just be skulking in a corner somewhere, but don't worry. I'll still be watching you." He backed out of sight with a flirty wink, and she glared at him just as Thurston came slouching in through the door.

"Morning," she said a little too brightly. He gave her a weary look, and she looked away guiltily. "Look, Thurston. About what happened last week-"

"It's none of my business," he said, waving her off. "Seriously, I'm not responsible for dictating your life."

"But-"

"No buts. Do what you need to do. It's your life, and I don't have any call getting mad at you," he said with a small smile. "I'm just bummed we're not going to be able to hang out as much anymore."

"Me too," she sighed. "It's not like I even _wanted_ Hojo's stupid job anyway. The crazy bastard practically forced me into it," she recalled bitterly.

"Yeah, I heard. Cudgeons was pretty pissed. I thought he was mad that you were gonna be skimping hours, but I heard him in his office screaming about Hojo to the SOLDIER director. He called him a 'limp-wristed, sanctimonious prick,'" Thurston mused, but his face suddenly went serious. "Really though, he didn't threaten you or anything like that, did he? Because you don't have to take his shit. You can take his ass to court for blackmail and sexual assault or whatever."

Aeron shook her head. "No no no. It wasn't _that._ I mean, yeah, he was throwing out some threats but they weren't aimed at me _personally_…"

"Well, still… I bet you could make something up if you wanted and everyone would probably buy it. That guy is enough of a creeper to sell it."

Aeron grinned. "Nah, he's probably gay. They wouldn't buy it if I claimed sexual assault since I don't have a penis. I mean, Jesus, those glasses practically_ scream_ homo."

Thurston snickered, and they continued verbally bashing Hojo's sexuality in between bouts of patients. Aeron would occasionally spot Reno leaning against the back wall or lurking in one of the unused patient rooms, and every time he caught her looking he would flash her a cocky grin or wink. She glowered at him and ignored him as best she could while finishing her work. Thirty minutes to their noon lunch break, Thurston finally caught on.

"Is that another one of your secret admirers?" he teased, nodding towards Reno who was now standing near the front entrance.

"No!" she said vehemently, slamming her finished paperwork into the outgoing bin. "He's a Turk."

"What?" Thurston exclaimed loudly, before noting the patients' curious stares and adjusting to a whisper. "What exactly did you _do?"_ he hissed. "They only send Turks to kill people or kidnap them."

"Or to babysit, apparently," she grumbled. "Oh, don't worry so much!" she chided, seeing Thurston's worried expression. "They sent this redheaded pansy instead of the burly black guy with the sunglasses. They can't be that intent on killing me if they sent sugarpuff over there."

"You know," Reno's voice cut into their conversation, causing Aeron and Thurston to tense, "if you're going to talk nasty, I _could_ always call in my partner Rude. You know, the burly black dude you mentioned earlier?" He was standing directly in front of the service window twirling a pen in his fingers and smirking.

"I'm sure he has much more important things to deal with," Aeron snorted. "Which is probably why they sent you on the sucker mission, to get out of his way."

"Touché."

He grinned, and Aeron found herself more frustrated than before. She had planned on being a complete bitch to him and making him storm off to give her some peace, but he actually seemed to _enjoy_ her insults. And, what was worse, he seemed to think it meant she was attracted to him.

"So, sweet cheeks," Reno drawled, leaning one elbow on the counter. "It looks like you're out of patients, and I know your lunch break is coming up. How's about you and I go grab a bite and get to know each other a little more?"

"Not on your life," she snorted. "I'm heading to lunch with Thurston, thank you very much."

Reno looked over at Thurston, seemingly noticing him for the first time. He gave him a very noticeable once over. "This your boyfriend?" he asked, his voice ever so slightly more menacing.

"_Ha!_" she snorted, amused at Thurston's sudden indignation. "Don't look so pouty, you peacock. I'm allowed to like men who carry more than a handful of brain cells."

"Really? Because I'd think you'd have to be practically brain-dead to sit through a conversation with _you_," he shot back with a sly grin.

"Oh, that's rich coming from Mr. I-have-a thing-for-blonde-bimbos!"

"My mistake," Reno groaned. "Married couple is more like it."

"See? Even he thinks you're a nagging old prude," Thurston teased.

"Both of you can go fuck yourselves," she said matter-of-factly as she grabbed her purse. "I just happen to be a woman with standards."

Thurston snorted, but grabbed his wallet and followed her out of the clinic and away from the Shinra complex.

"So where are we headed, sweet cheeks?" Reno drawled, striding casually beside her.

"No one said _you_ were invited," she snapped, increasing her pace.

"Of course I am," he said cheerfully. "I'm still on call, and it's my official mission to see that you make it to Hojo after your lunch break." She glowered at him.

"Fine, but first round's on you," she grumbled steering them through the crowd.

"Um… where did you say we were eating again?" Thurston asked, looking confused.

"Who said anything about _eating_? If I'm working for that creepy bastard for the next 6 hours I'm gonna need a stiff drink or two."

Reno smirked. "A woman after my own heart."

After their venture into the dingy little dive bar down the road, the three of them sauntered back toward the Shinra building and into the elevator. Thurston stopped at the clinic, but held the door open as he turned back to Aeron.

"If you need anything, just gimme a call, okay?" he said seriously. "I'll make sure to get Cudgeons to help, and then all hell will break loose." She laughed.

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that. I can take care of myself."

"You do that," he said. Then he surprised her by pulling her into a short one-armed hug before hurrying out the door. Only the swoop of the rising elevator pulled her back to reality.

"You sure you two aren't dating?" Reno mused, noting her slightly shocked expression and the light blush that crept into her cheeks.

"Shut up," she hissed, suddenly nervous about reaching the SOLDIER training floor. Reno seemed to sense her uneasiness and remained silent, but with a smug smirk plastered on his face.

The elevator finally _dinged_ to a stop, and they both exited, Reno walking casually in front while she followed and tried to regain some semblance of composure. As they passed through the wide halls, several SOLDIER men walked by in groups – usually wearing colors indicating similar rank – and eyed Aeron as she went. She even earned a few catcalls and whistles from passing SOLDIERs. She felt herself becoming less afraid and more annoyed.

"Don't mind them," Reno said, his smirk growing even wider than she thought possible. "They don't see too many women on the training floor, much less hot redheads with nice legs and a big set of-"

"If you want to keep your balls," she hissed, "you will end that sentence right there, shut the hell up and keep walking."

"Too late," he said as they came to a stop. "We're already here." He gestured in front of him to a large sliding door. "I hope you remember how to get back because this is where I leave you."

"You're not going in with me?" she said with obvious incredulity. She felt a small bubble of panic start to well up in her chest. Who knew what Hojo would get up to in there with no one around?

"Nope, you're on your own, sweetheart." He stopped. "You're not going to chicken out are you?" he teased. "I thought you said you were a big girl and could handle yourself."

She scowled. Of course she wasn't going to leave with Hojo's threats lingering in the back of her mind. But she didn't suppose the Turks would care very much about blackmail or even physical violence since it pretty much went hand in hand with their job description. Even if she did tell Reno about Hojo's threats now, it might be too late to help her. Or worse, she thought, they could have already _known_ and chosen to side with Hojo…

She sighed, defeated. "Whatever. I'll see you around." She waved him off halfheartedly.

"Yeah, you will." He winked, and sauntered off again, leaving her to face the door alone. _Déjà vu…_ she thought, remembering her first day of recruitment.

She took a large breath, stepped through the door and was once again greeted by the harsh white light. She blinked unsteadily, and squinted to try and see around the room.

"Miss Gibbons," Hojo's oily voice echoed around the room. She still couldn't see him. "If you would please enter the training area to your right, we can get started."

"What exactly are we going to be doing? I don't even know what my job _is_…" Aeron shouted around the room, not knowing where his voice came from.

"All in good time. Just please, step into the training area." He sounded entirely too pleased with himself.

Aeron grumbled, but did as she was told, carting her bag with her.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she felt a small vibration under her feet, telling her that the room was reading her vital signs and calibrating itself. She paused to let her eyes adjust. After a few minutes, she could just make out a blurry figure in the center of the room, so she started towards it.

As she got closer, the figure started to look more familiar and she felt a small tug of unease in her stomach. Sure enough, as soon as she got close enough to fully discern the figure's identity she recognized him as…

"General Sephiroth," she said, making sure to add a bit of sarcasm to the title. He turned and nodded curtly in her direction. "Why exactly am I here? And what the hell am I supposed to be doing with _you_?"

"I was simply told to meet here," Sephiroth replied coldly.

She scoffed, disbelievingly, and they settled into a stormy silence, glaring at each other all the while. Finally, Hojo's voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

"I'm sure both of you remember our little run-in last week." It wasn't a question. Aeron scowled, and she saw Sephiroth's eyes darken. "Lately, I've come to be less than impressed with General Sephiroth's performance wielding materia, and after witnessing your little display last week, Miss Gibbons, I believe you would be an ample tutor. There is no room for argument and you may not resign from your position until I am ready to release you. Your sessions will be monitored at all times to ensure maximum performance. Today is your first lesson, and I expect nothing but success. Begin." And the loudspeaker clicked off.

Aeron stared dumbly for a few minutes, trying to comprehend what he had just said. _His tutor?_ She had no idea what to expect when she came in, but whatever it was, she certainly hadn't expected _this._ She looked over at Sephiroth. _Judging from his face, he didn't have any idea either_, she mused, noticing the ever-so slight lapse in his composure.

As amusing as his discomfort was, she had no idea what to say or do in this situation. How could Hojo expect her to play teacher for a fully-grown, trained SOLDIER operative who, more than likely, hated her guts and was a giant jackass to boot? _Fucking ridiculous…_

"This is a joke, right?" Aeron said, looking around the room for someone to address. "Well, ha ha, joke's on me, I guess. Can I go back to work now?" Nobody answered, and the awkward silence was making her jumpy, which in turn made her more than a little annoyed. "Look, I'm not here to play materia preschool. If he has an issue he can see a professional."

"I already have," Sephiroth stated coldly.

"See?" Aeron said, gesturing toward him. "He should be fine. Now let me go. Deal's off."

"Ah, but Miss Gibbons," Hojo's voice drawled again. "Even the professional materia users are unable to replicate your strength and proficiency in spellcasting. From that little test I ran last week, I noticed that your style is… unique, to say the least. Not to mention that the power of your casts are, on average, 50 times more concentrated in mako energy than even General Sephiroth's." She could feel Sephiroth's suspicious gaze suddenly turn on her full force, and her cheeks involuntarily flushed.

"You had no right to monitor my energy levels, you voyeuristic prick," she growled. "That's none of your business."

"I think you'll find that it _is_," replied Hojo. "Now I'm going to step out and let the audio and video monitors take over. The simulation is on a timer so don't expect to leave before your shift. I expect you back here tomorrow at the same time, and if you don't show up… well, the offer from last week still stands…" The loudspeaker clicked off, but Hojo's threat still hung in the air.

Aeron took a moment to cool down. She tried to breathe evenly, counted backwards and forwards to ten, focused on anything _but_ the tall, glowering man standing in front of her. _How can Hojo do this?_ She silently fumed. _That complete and utter bastard! He won't get away with this!_ She visualized a very painful death for Hojo and felt immensely better, so she continued thinking of nasty ways for the doctor to die until she found herself almost close to cheerful again.

Several minutes had actually passed while she pulled herself under control, but the General was still standing patiently, if not a little stiffly. She began to feel more awkward than angry under his scrutinizing gaze, and she shuffled her feet absently, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound completely stupid. He finally broke the silence for her.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather not have a repeat of last week's performance," he stated coldly. "I would advise starting the lesson as soon as possible."

She looked up at him incredulously. _What can he expect me to _do? She thought. _I have no idea how to teach, or even what Hojo wants to be taught!_ Her mind reeled as she tried to think of something to do. In the meantime, she figured a few questions couldn't hurt.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked him bluntly. He merely glared at her. "Don't get so defensive," she scowled. "I'm asking because this could end up being a huge waste of time for both of us. I have no idea what Hojo wants me to teach you, and I have no idea what you are _able_ to learn. To be honest, I have no idea whether I can actually teach you the things I know."

He scoffed. "I highly doubt that."

"Okay fine, but don't get frustrated when you can't do some of this immediately," she sighed. "Today, I don't think Hojo will mind if I don't do a physical lesson. I need to know your strengths and weaknesses." He raised an eyebrow at her and she smirked. "I mean in materia, idiot. I'm not going to be able to take down a trained killer single-handedly even if I did know all your weak points in combat." He didn't reply, so she pulled a clipboard out of her bag. "Just tell me everything you can think of. I'm going to throw in a few questions of my own. I'm not trying to embarrass you here, I just need to know these things, so please be honest."

He nodded curtly, and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay," she said brightly. "So what's your weakest cast to date?"

"According to Professor Hojo," Sephiroth replied stiffly, "my latest Thundaga cast was less than satisfactory."

"OK, but what do _you_ think it is?" she asked. "No offense, but I think the guy's a pompous asshole, so I don't take his criticism too seriously."

He was slightly taken aback. No one had ever really asked for _his_ opinion before. Most of his interaction with his colleagues consisted of taking orders or pretending to listen to simpering praise. He had to admit, it was rather refreshing talking to someone on equal terms without any sign of trepidation or fear in her face.

"My use of curative materia is somewhat lacking compared to the others. I haven't had to use it much in the field."

"Good. We'll be bringing that one up to speed then," she said with a smile, scribbling notes onto her clipboard. Curative materia was definitely something she could work with.


End file.
